Last months, the elephants destroyed six acres of Odida’s cotton garden as they traversed the area. Odida fears that his community will lack food crop this season because of the destruction by the elephants.
Denis Ojara Severino, the local chairperson for Tikao village also told URN that his area has equally suffered with about 40 acres of crops including sim sim, beans and pumpkins stamped on by the elephants or eaten.
He says the community members are now stranded after trying several remedies such as including planting pepper, ringing bells, keeping bees, banging containers and blowing trumpets to scare the elephants in vain.
Other farmers reportedly sleep in their farms to make alarm and scare away the elephants from destroying their crops.
David Opala, a farmer lost six acres of cotton to the elephants last month. He says he is now stuck because he wanted to use the money to cater for his six children`s school fees.
Shem Lwanga, the Officer In-charge of Orom-Tikao Government Prisons located in the area, said the prison farms are equally affected by the destruction of the elephants. Quirino Olum, the Orom Sub County LC III Chairperson, says the problem is recurrent in the area because it lies along elephant tract from Kidepo Valley Game Park.
